Pulling over and toe end lasting machine



OGL 30, 1962 H. DIEMEL ETAL PULLING OVER AND TOE END LASTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 27, 1961 ov NN Oct. 30, 1962 H. DIEMEL ETAL 3,060,469

PULLING OVER AND TOE END LASTING MACHINE Filed April 27. 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

Oct. 30, 1962 H. DIEMEI. ETAL 3,060,469

PULLING OVER AND TOE END LASTING MACHINE med April 27, 1961 5 sheets-sheet s Fig. 4

Biemans oct. 30, 1962 H, DlEMEL ETAL 3,060,469

PULLING OVER AND TOE END LASTING MACHINE Filed April 27, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 l04a ,04h

Fig. 5

cll 79 Oct. 30, 1962 H. DIEMEI. ETAL 3,060,469

PULLING ovER AND ToE END LAsTING MACHINE Filed April 27, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Pfg@ 11a-n :r 11 1 u i 1l il 120 @2a- F- 133 1 4 743 82b f. l l M0 LC: 1 v i l e gil tent n 3,060,469 Patented Oct. 30, 1962 3,650,469 PULLING OVER AND T E END LASTNG MACHINE Heinrich Diemel and Georg Gpel, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, assignors to Maschinenfabrik Moenus AG., Frankfurt am Main, Germany, a firm Filed Apr. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 106,11? 23 Claims. (Cl. 12-11.3)

This invention relates -to shoe end lasting machines and more particularly to pulling over and/ or toe lasting machines, especia-lly such in which the operations of pulling over and the lasting of the toe end of a shoe takes place in one continuous operation on one and the same machine. Pulling over, as is generally known in lthe art of mechanical shoe making, is normally effected by a plurality of grippers or pincers which grip the margin of the shoe upper, which is generally referred to as the lasting allowance, at the toe end, often as far as the waist of the shoe, and exert a strong pull, -thereby stretching .the leather and cause it to adapt itself snugly to the shape of the last. The complicated shape of the latter and the irregular density of the leather make it necessary, sometimes, to vary the pull of the grippers on the leather either all along the `toe portion or at only certain places thereof. So the pulling force of the grippers at such places must be increased or relieved accordingly, which is very difficult especially in hydraulically operated automatic or semiautomatic machines of the said type.

It is known in connection with pulling over machines to control the movement of all grippers, or similar tools, from a `common control shaft, which may be rotated mechanically or started by the operator of the machine by means of a valve and in which, in case a correction of the position of the upper is required, the rotation of the shaft and, thereby, the operation of the machine may ybe interrupted and the last, or the upper respectively, released before the pulling over operation is completed.

The main object of the invention is the removal of the disadvantages accompanying the known pulling over and toe end lasting machines by the provision of a gripper control which will enable the grippers not only to be adjusted individually and pulled and released in unison, which is also known in itself, but to manually control the pulling `force of each gripper or pair of grippers, or of several individual grippers or pairs of grippers, according to choice or requirement prior to or during the operation of the machine at any point of its working cycle.

Another object of the invention is the arrangement, in a hydraulically operated machine of the said type, in which the toe gripper and the various pairs of side grippers together with their pulling and controlling means, their oil pumps, their pressure transmitting and regulating valves and their manually operated adjusted means are so assembled as to collectively form mutually independent groups of self-contained units adapted to be operated each individually or all simultaneously in unison.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means in the said groups or units by which each of .the grippers or pairs of grippers may be quickly set in operative, or even removed, without affecting any of the other grippers or adjusting means in the unit.

A still further object of the invention is the provision in each unit of means for the `adjustment of the toe gripper and Ifor each of the mutually oppositely arranged pairs of side grippers, which means, for instance, consist in an adjusting lever with a variable fulcrum for increasing or decreasing the `adjusted pressure and, therewith, the pulling force of the respective gripper or grippers.

The arrangement of each gripper assembly forming a complete and self-contained unit in accordance with the invention renders it possible to operate the adjusting lever of any single gripper assembly individually,or the levers of some or all of them in unison. The invention, for this purpose, provides for the location of the said adjusting levers all in a line, so that they may be swung out ail at the same time if a pulling over movement or a release of the grippers is required. In this way the throwing into or out of operation of the adjusting levers can be effected extraordinarily quickly without the employment of conventional adjusting or locking means such as gears, screw spindles, or the like.

The same or a similar arrangement may be adopted in accordance with the invention for the compensating levers for the correction of the position of the upper on the last. Also in this case the said lcompensating levers may be operated or set inoperative either singly or in unison by a wiping movement of the hand without recourse to any other means such as gears or the like.

A great and universally acknowledged drawback in connection with the known machines of the type herein referred to consists in the spacing of the grippers from each other which becomes greater or smaller with the varying shapes and sizes of the lasts. When lasts of a large size are used, the spacing of the grippers increases and the margin of the upper becomes wavy which, in the subsequent wiping operation, leads to the formation of folds and creases which impede inseaming or cause other disturbances for instance in the application of ornaments and are often responsible for a bad appearance of the shoe. It is, therefore, a further object of the invention to eliminate these drawbacks and t-o so control the position of the grippers during their operation on the shoe that they will always maintain .their correct spacing with regard to each other irrespective of the shape or the size of the last.

In order to achieve this object the invention provides an easily adjustable and easily exchangeable template by means of which the position of the grippers along the forepart of the shoe is so controlled that the distances from each other of the grippers will always remain the same. This is accomplished by a coherent arrangement of the grippers for example in the form of a chain which encircles the template, whereby the said chain may be moved along the margin of the template or together with the saine.

The grippers themselves are preferably provided with rounded cam portions by means of which they are able to rest against the sides of the template with only a small amount of lfriction owing to the larger number of bearing points. Instead of the said cam portions small antifriction balls may -be used. l

Means are preferably also provided by which the grippers may be lowered selectively to be out of work selectively when they are not required. In this way it is possible, for instance, when pulling over small shoe sizes, to eliminate the last pair of side grippers and, if the shoes are sharply pointed, the toe gripper also, as otherwise they would interfere with and disturb the operation of the other grippers.

With the aforesaid and other objects in view the invention consists in the provision and yarrangement of the means which are illustrated in the accompanying, chiey diagrammatic drawings. However, we wish it to be understood that these drawings are given by way of example only and that various modifications and alterations may be resorted to within the lscope and the meaning of the claims appended to the end of this specification. In these drawings FIG. l is a vertical section through the gripper controlling device as seen from the front of the machine,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. l taken in diterent levels,

FIG. 3 shows a detail in section on line A-B of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 illustrates the arrangement of the grippers in side elevation,

FIG. 5 is a plan view partly in section of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 represents a section on line C-D of FIG. 5, while FIG. 7 shows one of the joints for the interconnection of two gripper cases.

The illustrated machine comprises the conventional arrangement of the toe gripper in a pulling over machine of the type herein referred to, and three pairs of side grippers, in which the grippers of each pair are positioned mutually opposite each other. For Ithe sake of simplicity only one gripper of a pair of side grippers, including its controls, will be specifically referred to in the following specification, it being understood that all grippers and their means of control are of substantially the same kind and operated all in the same manner.

As will be seen from FIG. 2 of the drawings, four gripper operating cylinders are shown, of which the cylinder 1 serves for the control of the toe gripper and the cylinders 2, 3 and 4 for the control of the pairs of side grippers, of which three pairs are assumed to be employed on the understanding that more or less may be provided.

Operable in each of the four cylinders and slidable in each of the cylinders 1 to 4 is a piston 5 which is in connection with a piston rod 7 and by means of which a pulling force is exerted to act on a sleeve 8 which iis screwed to the piston rod 7 and the upper end of which extends into a forked head to which a cross beam 12 is hinged as by mea-ns of a bolt 1'1. To this cross beam the pulling rods `13 for the grippers are attached as by means of ball sockets so as to be capable of universal movement. A pressure piece 9 which is longitudinally displaceable in the sleeve 8 ensures the horizontal position of the cross beam under the action of a spring and, thereby, a uniform pulling action on both grippers of which the pulling or draw rods are attached to the cross beam. A ball-handled lever 14 is provided by means of which the position of the upper (not shown) may be corrected, if necessary, by imparting a tipping or rocking movement to the cross member. All the cylinders 1-4 are tightened up at top and bottom by cylinder covers such as 15 to prevent loss of pressure fluid.

Screwed near the lower extremity of each cylinder is a low pressure valve 17 having exhaust openings 18, while a control valve comprising a housing 26 and, movable therein, a plunger-shaped slide 21 having a number of spaced pistons and an end collar 25 is arranged adjacent .each of the pressure cylinders 1-4 in a block 20. Provided in the housing 26 are inlet and outlet ports which communicate with the interior of the cylinder chamber through passages 27, 28 above and below the piston 5. Hydraulic pressure is provided by means of a pump, preferably a gear pump 31. All four pumps of the machine are driven by a common shaft 35, and each pump presses the oil, or other pressure fluid, through the conduits 29 and 32 via the control valve chamber 26 and the passages 27 and 28 into the pressure cylinder of its particular unit.

For controlling the pulling action of the grippers in accordance with the invention, a high pressure valve 36 is provided which comprises a ball valve and a compression spring 38 adapted to press on the ball 37 of the said valve and which can be tightened or slackened as required. The spent oil from the high pressure valve escapes through a pipe 33 and from the control valve casing 26 through a pipe 34 into the sump or container of the machine (not shown). The high pressure valves can be set to the desired pressure either singly or in unison and also adjusted singly or in unison whenever this should be required by the character of the material to be operated upon. For this purpose the following arrangement has been provided:

The housing of the valve 36 is provided with a cylindrical socket 39. Slidable in this socket is a sleeve 46 under the action of a spring, preferably the aforesaid spring 38, and into which a pin 45 is inserted which at its upper end extends into a forked head 47. A lever 61, which will be more closely described at a later stage of this specification, is provided with a link which is pivoted thereto by a bolt 44, while another bolt 48 in the link is arranged vertically below the same. Both these bolts are located in the centre line of the high pressure valve 36. A wedge 49 can be pushed in between the pin 48 and the forked head 47 of the pin 45. The amount of penetration between the parts 47, 48 of the wedge piece 49 can be altered by means of a threaded sleeve 50, whereby the movement of the link 47a in an upward direction is limited by a stop 51 coming into contact with a xed bar 52. In this way an adjustment of the spring 38 and therewith of the ball valve 37 via the pin 45 and the sleeve 46 is only possible in a downward direction from the position shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing. It will thus be seen that by increasing or decreasing the pressure in the high pressure valve via the ball valve 37, 38 by means of the wedge 49 will cause a corresponding increase or decrease of the pulling force on the grippers as exerted by the piston 5.

In this way a permanent adjustment of the wedges 49 may be effected singly by screwing up or relaxing the threaded sleeves 56 individually. For setting or adjusting all the high pressure valves in unison in accordance with the material to be operated upon, a hand wheel 55 is provided to act on ascrew spindle 56, by means of which a bell crank lever 58 is caused to divert about a pin 57 and, by means of a bolt S9 at the upper end of its vertical arm to move all four wedge pieces simultaneously and evenly forwardly or backwardly as required and to thereby act accordingly on the springs 38 of the high pressure valves 36.

If it is desired, during the operation of the machine, quickly to adjust the tension of the grippers singly or in unison only temporarily, this is etected by simultaueously adjusting the high pressure valves 36 and the control valve 211, 26 singly or collectively in mutual agreement with each other by means of the hand levcrs 4t). These hand levers are fitted in cylindrical extensions 42 of bell crank levers 43 as by means of screws 41, after unscrewing of which they may be removed in order not to interfere with the operation of the machine whenever one or more of the grippers are to be set inoperative. Each of these hand levers cooperates with two bell crank levers 60 and 61, which are double-sided and of which the lever 61 laterally encloses the greater part of the articulated lever 43, together with which it is pivoted on the bolt 44 which, as already described, also serves for the suspension of the link 47a. Both bell crank levers 43 and 61 are connected to one another by means of a strong tension spring 63. The bell crank lever 60 is pivoted at its vertex 69a to a small bracket on the machine frame with its depending arm 6911 resting against a corresponding flat surface of the bracket. A spring 62 on a spring 62a is provided to maintain lever 6l) in the position shown in FIG. l, in which it secures the control valve piston 21 in its medium position as shown.

The articulated arm 43 of the hand lever 4t) is guided laterally in the bell crank lever 61 to which it is connected by means of a bridge piece 72, a screw 73 on the upper and a spring 74 on the lower side of lever 43. At its free left end the bell crank lever 61 is provided with a bolt 44a by means of which it is pivoted to the attened upper part of the control valve slide 21. In this way the hand lever 40 is able to turn on two fulcrums, namely 44 and 44a, as will be more clearly described.

Bell crank lever 6i), as already explained, swings about its pivot 69a and is pushed by its spring 62 and spring stud 62a upwardly until it rests with its depending arm 6011 on the bracket. The free end of lever 60 has two trunnions and 86 which take into corresponding openings in the sides of a cap 64 at the upper end of the valve slide Z1. The slide is provided with two lateral surfaces S7 along which th; trunnions 85, S6 can be displaced. An eyelet bolt on the horizontal arm of lever 6i) is provided to receive the one end of a tension spring 63 of which the other end is secured to a pin on lever 61. This spring tends to pull lever 61 and, therewith, the control valve slide 21 downwardly beyond its medium position which, however, is normally prevented by the action of lever 6i), the trunions 85, `865 and the strong spring 62 maintaining the lever 6 by its arm 601i in the locked position shown in FlG. l. In this position of lever 61 and the control valve slide 21 the machine opcrates at medium pressure. If the pressure in all units is to be increased, the hand levers 40l must be moved in unison to the right as by a simple wipe of the operators hand. This will cause the four control valve slides 2.1 to be raised into their upper most position by the levers 61 while, at the same time, an increased pressure will be exerted on all the springs 38 of the high pressure valves 36, whereby the pressure in the oil conduits also increases so as to exert a correspondingly stronger pull on the grippers.

However, instead of moving the levers 4t) in unison, as has just been described, by hand, they may be swung out mechanically by means of a lever '70 which carries at its free end a bar '71. This bar stretches over all four cylinders and engages under the overhanging portions of the caps 64. These caps 64, in addition to their already described arrangement, are connected to the flat surfaces 87 of the control valve slides 2.1 by means of pins 44a. If it is desired to disconnect the toe gripper or a pair of the side grippers, all one has to do is to unscrew the projections 65 of the respective slides, whereupon the bar 71 will not be able to raise these slides, so that the gripper operating pistons 5, 7 remain inactive in their lowermost positions. Their respective hand, levers 4t) can also be removed, as already explained, by unscrewing their screws 41 so as to prevent their interference with the operation of the other hand levers.

Individual displacement or adjustment of the control valve slides 21 is eiected in substantially the same manner as has just been described with reference to the collective displacement of the hand levers 4l). lIt will now be explained in more detail. The hand lever which it is desired to adjust, has to be turned slightly to the right about its pivot 44. This movement of the hand lever causes the left end of the bell crank lever 61 to divert upwardly and to thereby move the corresponding valve slides also upwardly until its end plate 25 bears against the lower rim of the cylinder 26, whereby the oil on the opposite side of the piston escapes through the slots 26a.

During this first part of the movement of lever 40 of the respective unit the pin 44a of lever y61 moves away from the trunnions 85, 36, thus tensioning the spring 63. At the same time the spring-controlled pawl 77 of lever 61 is moved slightly to the right.

After the end plate 25 has been pressed firmly against the lower rim of cylinder 26, the second phase of the movement of hand lever tu begins to take place. In this phase the bolt 44a which had previously descended with the control slide 211, is now becoming the pivot for the continued right hand turning movement of the hand lever. Bolt 4d of link 47a hereby presses the forked head 45 further down, whereby the valve spring 38 becomes further depressed so that the oil pressure in the system rises which, in turn, causes an intensied downward movement of the piston S in the corresponding pressure cylinder 6 and, thereby, a stronger pull on the respective gripper, or grippers, and the shoe upper, in which position the parts become locked by the engagement of the pawl 77 with the teeth of the rack 78.

with the teeth of rack 78, so that the parts of the high pressure valve 36 are free to also return into their original positions.

It it is desired to reduce the oil pressure in the system for the purpose of relaxing the pull of the upper on the last, the hand lever 40 will have to be turned toward the left. This causes the bolt 44a to move the control valve slide 21 and its cap 64 as `well as the tr-unnions 85, 86 downwardly fbeyond their medium position. In this new position of the slide 21 the oil presses the piston 5 upwards while entering through the passage 27,' whereby the superiluous toil escapes through the perforations 1S in the low pressure valve 17.

Herewith the action of pulling the grippers and, thereby, of pulling over of the upper on the last is terminated. The parts are returned into their original positions by the mechanically operated lever 70. In the aforedescribed sense all movements may be carried out by turning the lever into the positions 70a or 7tllb respectively in which case, however, the movement of the parts 'will be possible only in unison.

The movement of the parts as initiated and carried out by the aforedescribed mechanical and hydraulical means eventually is continued via the pistons 5, 7 and 8 and the draw rods 13 (FIG. 1) into the gripper arrangement which is illustrated in FIGS. 4-7 of the drawings.

Provided on the frame 8l) of the machine is a vertically movable shaft 81 and an upwardly directed bracket 82 which is lixed, as by screwing, to the back of the frame. A last carrier 83 is suitably fitted to the upper free end of shaft 81. It extends forwardly into a head 84 upon whichrrests a template L85 of approximately the shape of the shoe bottom to be operated upon. The template 8S is capable of longitudinal movement by means of a key 86 sliding in a -key groove `87 of the head piece 84. A stay bolt 88 to the upper part 90 of which a supporting plate 91 for the last 16 is fixed extends through the template in which a slot 92 permits of limited longitudinal adjustment.

As shown in FIG. 5 all of the grippers are joined to one another in chain fashion encircling the template 8S. Seven grippers are shown, but there may be more or less as required. They may be operated in any desired manner but by preference hydraulically as shown in FIGS. 1-3. For the purpose of the invention gripper casings 93 are provided in which are cylinders 94 and pistons 95 which are adapted to move Within the cylinders under the action of the oil entering through the pull rods 13 at their lower spherically shaped ends. In the example shown the outer jaws of the grippers 96 are tted to the outside of the gripper casings 93. They are immovable, while the lower jaws 99 are movable in relation thereto.

Closing of the grippers, after the lasting allowance ofthe upper has been introduced between their jaws, takes place by a tappet rod 100 which is in connection with and operated by the pistons 95, while for their release a pressure spring 101 is positioned between the piston and the cylinder cover 102. Pulling down of the grippers takes place in the manner described with reference to FIG. 1 in that immediately after the closing of the jaws the gripper casings 93, together with the grippers 96, 99 are pulled downwardly under the hydraulic force as transmitted by the pistons 5, 7 and 8 to the draw bars 13. During the now following action of the wipers (not shown) the pressure becomes gradually reduced and the leather is drawn out of the gripper jaws also very gradually so that the lasting can take place free from folds and creases. All

c grippers are arranged so that those which are not required can be lowered to beneath their working planes where they do not interfere with the operation of the others.

As already briefly described, the grippers are joined to one another so as to form a continuous chain which can be drawn tightly around the circumference of the template 8S and held in engagement therewith. For this purpose each gripper casing 93 is provided with outwardly open drill holes 103 (FIG. 5) in which two mutually connected and hinge-like operating pins itl-r are encaged (FIG. 7). These hinge pins may, of course, be made in one piece, but in the drawing they are shown to consist of two single pins 104, which are rounded over most part of their outer shape but flattened on the side facing each other and joined together by means of screws 105. The pins are dropped into the cavities of two adjoining gripper casings and, in this way, establish the chain-like formation of the grippers. Naturally any other way of joining the grippers into a chain-like formation may be resorted to as for instance independently movable links, but the arrangement shown has proved to be as very satisfactory.

The last two of the said links connect the ends of the chain to forked hinge members 110 which, on their part, are connected by means of pins 111 to other hinge mem bers 112 and, by means of another forked hinge member 113, to draw bars 114 which are guided in a cross piece 116 arranged at the upper end of the bracket 82 and allowed to slide therein under the action of strong compression springs 117.

The cross piece 116 comprises a plate 113 (FIG. 6) which rests in lateral uprights 82a and 3211 of the bracket 82 and is fixed thereto by means of screws 11? which are passed through slots in order to permit of the cross piece being longitudinally adjusted. Arranged in the centre of the cross piece is a frame or cage 120 depending downwardly, the lower extremity of which is closed by means of a cover 121 forming in its centre a ball socket 124. The plate and frame 118/120 is provided with two upwardly projecting arms 125 between which a free space is formed which is closed by a cover 126. Seated in this cover is a downwardly projecting spindle 4127 the lower end of which terminates into a barrel-shaped square block 12S, while its upper end is provided with gear teeth 130 which are adapted to mesh with the teeth of racks 131 and 132 for the movement of the draw bars 114.

Seated in the ball socket 124 of the lower cover 121 so as to be capable of universal movement is a ball seat pin 133, which normally takes a position coaxially with the spindle 127. A shell 135 having a square hollow is fixed to the free end of the ball seat pin, in the hollow of which the square barrel-shaped block 128 of the spindle 127 is seated. Rearwardly screwed into the shell 135 at right angles to the plane of FIG. 6 is a handle 138 which extends to the outside of the frame 120, while in the centre of the frame, approximately at the same level with the centre of the ball seat 124, a forwardly extending eyelet screw 139 is provided, to which two tension springs 143 are attached with one of their ends, while their other ends are fastened to spring bolts 142 which are screwed into bosses 14) on the bracket arm 82a.

The aforedescribed cross piece 116 serves the purpose of holding and guiding the parts which are used in restoring, whenever necessary, the correct position of the upper on the last after the closing of the grippers, as is generally known in connection with pulling over machines. Besides, it also serves to move the template 85 and, therewith, the grippers in a direction fore and aft of the machine, it being remembered that the gripper casings rest pointwise with their projections 93a against the outer edge of the template.

Moving the hand lever 138 to `the right or left as indicated by the two-pointed arrow in FIG. 5, the spindle 127 turns about its axis and, since its teeth 130 mesh with the racks 131, 132, the latter will draw the chain of gripper casings including the grippers by the links 114, 112 and 110 in the direction required.

When operating on shoes having broad or rounded toes the projections 93a of the gripper casings settle themselves snugly against the outer edge of the template E5 also at the toe end under the pull which is exerted in the aforedeseribed manner on the Chain of grippers. However, in the case of more sharply pointed toes it is possible that the foremost projections, namely those of the toe gripper, do not find sufficient contact on the template so that the pulling over action on the upper in the vicinity of the toe would suffer. In order to avoid this, the hinge pins 1041 of the toe gripper are set back a certain amount so that .the links 10-fa of the first pair of side grippers and the links 1G41) of the toe gripper take their position in approximately the pulling direction of the chain of grippers. Owing to this arrangement the leather at the toe end of the shoe will be correctly seized by the grippers also in the case of sharply pointed toes. A small amount of play which may occur at the foremost projection 93b will be compensated by the wipers following the grippers in the further course of operation.

lf the position of the upper requires correction in vertical direction, this can also be accomplished by the hand lever 138 which is capable of altogether four adjusting movements. In case of a required vertical adjustment the lever is not swung sideways as before, but vertically as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4. This movement of the hand lever causes a displacement of the axes a, b, c and d into the positions shown in dotanddash lines in either the one or the other direction. The tipping movement of the ball pin 133 and the shell 135 takes place at right angles to the plane Of FIG. 6. The spindle 127, which is confined between the lid 126 and the racks 131, 132, remains vertical and the barrel-shaped square block 12S adapts itself to the angular position of the shell and thus permits of the further rotation of the spindle 127 and its gear wheel also when the parts 127, 133 take an angular position with respect to one another. However, by its tipping movement the spindle 1217 is moved forward, or backward, in a straight line and thereby causes the draw rod 139a with its ball journals 14S, 149 to join in the movement. The ball journal 149 is in engagement with a ball pin 150 on the template 85 which is thus caused to also move forward, or backward, as required. The ball pin 150 can be removed by unscrewing Vthe nut which holds it to the template 85, whereupon the latter can be removed if this is called for by a change in the shoe form to be operated upon.

After having compensated the position of the upper on the last in the one or the other direction, the hand lever 138 is released, whereupon the parts are returned into their initial positions by the springs 143. When correcting the position of the upper in the longitudinal direction, the return of the parts will be caused in that by the vertical movement of hand lever 138 the eyelet bolt 139 which is attached to the ball of the ball pin 133 also swings upwardly or downwardly as the case may be, and thereby causes both springs 143 to become tensioned obliquely in upward direction. When then the hand lever is given free, both springs will pull on the eyelet bolt 139 and return the same into its medium position, whereby the return of the parts previously displaced is completed.

What we claim is:

1. In a hydraulically operated machine for pulling over and lasting the toe ends of shoes and other footwear by a toe gripper and at least one pair of side grippers and having pressure producing, pressure transmitting, pressure operated and pressure controlling means for pulling the margin of `shoe uppers at the toe end and at the sides thereof over and into conformity with the shape of a last, and manually operable means in connection with said grippers for correcting the position of the upper on the last, said pressure producing, pressure transmitting, pressure operated, pressure controlling and upper correctsped-ice Q ing means for each toe gripper and each pair of grippe-rs forming a self-contained group, and an arrangement comprising a plurality of hand grippers in which all of such self-contained groups are combined to form a selectively and collectively operable unit.

2. A hydraulically operated machine for pulling over and lasting the toe ends of shoes as claimed in claim l, comprising, in each group, for cooperation with the toe gripper and each pair of side grippers, a high pressure valve, a container from which pressure fluid is supplied to said valve, a pressure cylinder and a piston slidable in said cylinder for transmitting power to said grippers, means for conducting the pressure iiuid from said high pressure valve to said cylinder, a control valve having a valve slide intermediate said high pressure valve and said cylinder, means for normally maintaining said valve slide in its medium position, a hand lever, means selectively operable by said hand lever for operating in timed relation said valve slide and said high pressure valve, and means in cooperation with said piston for drawing the pertaining grippers downwardly `to pull the upper into conformity with the last.

3. In a hydraulically operated machine for pulling over and lasting the toe ends of shoes and other footwear having a toe gripper and at least one pair of side grippers, pressure producing, pressure transmitting, pressure operated, pressure controlling and manually operable upper correcting means for each toe gripper and each pair of grippers forming a self-contained group, an arrangement including a plurality of manually operable levers one for each gripper in which all such groups are combined to form a selectively and collectively operable unit, a pressure cylinder, a piston slidable in said cylinder, a high pressure valve for supplying pressure fluid to said high pressure valve, and a low pressure valve having apertures for the discharge of spent pressure iluid from said cylinder.

4. A hydraulically operated machine for pulling over and lasting the toe ends of shoes by means of a toe gripper and a plurality of side grippers arranged in pairs, comprising, for cooperation with the toe gripper and each pair of side grippers, a high pressure valve, a container from which pressure liuid is supplied to said high pressure valve, a pressure cylinder and a piston slidable in said cylinder for transmitting power to said grippers, means for conducting the pressure diuid from said high pressure valve into said cylinder, a control valve having a valve slide intermediate said high pressure valve and said cylinder, means .for normally maintaining said valve slide in its medium position, a hand lever and means operable by said hand lever for operating in timed relation said valve slide and said high pressure valve, a flattened portion at the upper end of said control valve slide, a removable cap tting over said ilattened portion, lateral cavities in said cap, a bell crank lever intermediate said hand lever and said cap, another lbell crank lever, trunnions in one of the arms of said second-named bell crank lever adapted to take into said cavities, a tension spring for pulling the said two bell crank levers towards one another, locking means in connection with said second-named Ibell crank lever to prevent said valve slide moving below its medium position, and means in cooperation with said piston for drawing the pertaining grippers downwardly to pull the upper into conformity with the last.

5. In `a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 4, the provision of clamping means on the cap of each control valve slide, by the removal of which the connection and cooperation between the respective valve slide and its pertaining bell crank lever is interrupted in order to set the corresponding gripper unit inactive.

6. In a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 4, la lateral overhang -on each cap of said control valve slides, a mechanically movable lever,

l) a pivot at about the `centre of said lever on which the lever is able to turn, a lbar on one end of said lever stretching across all units underneath the overhangs of all the said valve slides, by which all the valve slides can be lifted simultaneously `in unison by the swinging of the said lever about the said pivot.

7. In a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 4, a bracket intermediate the high pressure valve and the control valve slide, said second-named bell crank lever being pivoted to said bracket and having a substantially horizontal and a vertically depending arm, a tension spring between said horizontal arm and said first-named bell crank lever tending to pull said horizontal arm in the direction of said first-named bell crank lever, `and an `'abutment on said bracket :for limiting the movement of said vertical arm and thereby preventing said tension spring from acting on the said bell crank lever.

8. In a pulling over and toe end lasting machine having a toe gripper and individual pairs of side grippers, draw bars for the said grippers, pressure producing, pressure transmitting, pressure operated and pressure controlling means all arranged in a plurality of mutually independent groups, said pressure controlling means of each group comprising a high pressure valve, a housing to accommodate said valve, a tubular extension to said housing, a slide in said tubular extension having a downwardly extending stem at its bottom, a valve member in said high pressure valve, a spring on said stern bearing with one of its ends on said valve member, and a set of hand levers and associated means to press on Said tubular extension and said slide movable therein thereby to vary the pressure of the spring on the said valve member.

9. A pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 8, in which the set of hand levers for correcting the position of the upper .and the set of hand levers for operating the control valve slides of all units are each arranged in a continuous line to be operable both individually and in unison.

10. yIn a pulling over and toe end lasting machine having a toe gripper and individual pairs of side grippers, draw bars for the said grippers, pressure producing, pressure transmitting, pressure operated and pressure controlling means all arranged in a plurality of mutually independent groups, said pressure controlling means of each group comprising a high pressure valve, a housing to accommodate said valve, a tubular extension to said housing, a slide in said tubular extension having a downwardly extending stem `at its lbottom, a valve member in said high pressure valve, a spring on said stem bearing with one of its ends on said valve member, hand operated means to press on the slide in said tubular extension thereby to vary the pressure of said spring on the said valve member, a link substantially coaxial with said tubular extension and slide, means to move said link in vert-ical direction, a wedge member intermediate said link and said slide, means for locking said link against movement toward the said slide, a hand lever exerting pressure over said link and wedge member on said slide for varying the pressure on said valve member, and means for limiting the upward movement of the said link by the said hand lever.

ll. IIn a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 10, the provision of hand controlled means for individually adjusting each wedge member and a further hand controlled means for collectively moving the wedge members of all units in relation to their links and slides for varying the spring pressure on all high pressure valve members in unison.

12, A hydraulically operated machine for pulling over 'and lasting the toe ends of shoes and other footwear having va toe ygripper and a plurality of side gripper pairs assembled in individual groups, comprising in each group, a high .pressure valve, a valve member in said high pressure valve, a spring to bear on said valve member, means for exerting variable pressure on said spring, a control valve, a valve slide in said control valve, a bell crank lever intermediate said high pressure valve and said control valve, a pivot at one end of said bell crank lever capable of movement therewith in relation to said high pressure valve, a second pivot at the other end of said bell crank lever in cooperation with said valve slide, and a hand lever attached to said bell crank lever for turning the same alternately about both pivots according to the operation of the part required.

13. In a hydraulically operated pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim l2, said bell crank lever being resiliently connected to another bell crank lever, a tubular extension on one arm of said other bell crank lever serving as a holder for the said hand lever, and a screwable connection for detachably fitting the hand lever into the said tubular extension.

14. A pulling over and toe lasting machine as claimed in claim l2, further comprising another bell crank lever attached to and spaced slightly away from said handle operated first named bell crank lever, both levers being adapted to turn with one of their arms on the same pivot in the centre line of said hydraulic high pressure valve and having their other, free arms directed in approximately mutually opposite directions, a compression spring within the space between said two bell crank levers, a pivot on said other arm of the second-named bell crank lever attaching said arm to the upper end of the control valve slide to lift said slide on the handle being turned about said pivot, a stop plate at the lower end of said valve slide to limit its upward movement by contact with a stationary part of the machine and to thereby enable said second-named bell crank lever to turn on its second pivot at the upper end of the valve slide and, with its first-named pivot, to cause an increased pressure being exerted ou the spring of the valve member in the high pressure valve.

15. A hydraulically operated machine for pulling over and lasting the toe ends of shoes and other footwear having a plurality of grippers for pulling the margin of a shoe upper into conformity with the shape of a last and comprising pressure producing and transmitting means, including a high pressure valve, means for supplying a pressure medium to said valve, a pressure cylinder and piston, conduits for transmitting the pressure medium from said high pressure valve to said pressure cylinder, draw bars in connection with and actuated by the said piston for pulling the said grippers, a last carrier, a template on said last carrier approximately resembling the shape of the shoe bottom to be pulled over, links for interconnecting the grippers so as to form a continuous chain thereof, and means for pulling said chain of grippers into contact with the edge of said template.

16. ln a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim l5, a vertical shaft in the machine frame for adjustably supporting said last, a last carrier and serving as a support for the last and for the said template, a key and key groove to permit of relative sliding movement of the template on the last carrier.

l7. ln a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 15, a vertical shaft in the machine for adjustably supporting said last, a last carrier and template, a key and key groove to permit of relative sliding movement of the template on the last carrier, gripper casings to support the said grippers, cylindrical cavities in the gripper casings which are open at the sides of adjacent casings facing each other, said links consisting of two longitudinally connected pairs of cylindrical bolts engaged in the said cavities so as to hold adjacent casings, including their grippers, movably together and to thus form a chain of interconnected grippers, and means for pulling said chain of grippers lengthwise and, incidentally, crosswise into Contact with the edge of the said template.

18. A hydraulically operated machine for pulling over and lasting the toe ends of shoes and other footwear having a toe gripper and at least one pair of side grippers, including their casings, for pulling the margin of a shoe upper over a last and comprising pressure producing, controlling and transmitting means, a pressure cylinder and piston, conduits for transmitting a pressure medium from said high pressure valve to said pressure cylinder, draw bars in connection with and actuated by the said piston for pulling said grippers downwardly, a last carrier, a template on said last carrier approximately resembling the shape of the shoe bottom to be pulled over, links for inter-connecting said gripper casings and grippers to a continuous chain, two cylindrical cavities in each of the side gripper casings open to the outside and spaced evenly and parallel to the side edges of the template, two cylindrical cavities in the sides of the front gripper casing set back so as to be in line with the cavities of the first side gripper casing parallel to the central axis of the template, longitudinally connected pairs of hinge pins encaged in the cavities of adjacent gripper casings, ,and means for pulling said chain of grippers and gripper casings into contact with the edge of said template.

19. ln a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 18, the provision of draw bars for pull ing said chain of grippers and gripper casings into contact with the edge of the template, interconnected link members attached with one end link to the end link of said chain of grippers and with their other end link to said draw bars on each side of the template, and resilient means for exerting a continuous pull on said draw bars for keeping said chain of grippers in close contact with the edge of said template.

20. ln a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 18, draw bars for pulling said chain of grippers and gripper casings into contact with the edge of the template, interconnected link members attached with one end link to the adjacent end link of the chain of grippers and with the other end link to the draw bar in line therewith, a cross member approximately below the heel end of the last for guiding the said draw bars in longitudinal direction, a collar at the free end of each of said draw bars, a compression spring intermediate said collar and said cross member, a depending frame on said cross member, and means in said frame for initiating the movement of the said chain of grippers with its ends in opposite directions longitudinally of the template and at right angles thereto.

21. In a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 18, spring controlled draw bars for pulling said chain of grippers and gripper casings into contact with the edge of the template, interconnected link members attached with one end link to the adjacent end link of the chain of grippers and with the other end link to the draw bar in line therewith, a cross member below the heel end of the last, guides for the draw bars in said cross member, a depending frame on said cross member, and a hand lever in the said frame capable of movement in four directions, namely right, left, up and down, for moving the said chain of grippers with its ends in opposite directions longitudinally of the ternplate and for moving the template forward and backward.

22. In a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 18, spring-controlled draw bars for pulling said chain of grippers and gripper casings into contact with the edge of the template, interconnected link members intermediate said draw bars and said chain of grippers at the end link thereof, a cross member approximately below the heel end of the last, racks in the said cross member for the horizontal movement of the draw bars, a frame depending from the said cross member, a ball socket at the bottom of said frame, an upwardly extending ball pin in said ball socket, a shell having an axially extending square hollow at its free end, a depending spindle having a lower barrel-shaped square -block freely inserted in said square hollow, a toothed wheel at the upper end of said spindle in engagement with the said racks in said cross member, a hand lever capable of movement in four directions attached to the said shell for moving the said chain of grippers with its ends in opposite directions longitudinally of theI template and for moving the template forward and backward.

23. In a pulling over and toe end lasting machine as claimed in claim 18, a ball pin at the heelward end of the template, a ball socket on a manually actuated longitudinally movable member, a hand lever for moving said member forward and backward, and an adjustable connecting rod to connect said Iball pin and said ball socket, said ball pin being removably iixed to the template to 5 enable a quick exchange thereof.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,423,454 Jorgensen July 8, 1947 10 2,614,275 Jorgensen Oct. 2l, 1952 2,706,823 Jorgensen Apr. 26, 1955 

